Your Essay will include the following:

1.    Introduction: establish the significance of your topic in relation to the essay question, present your topic and/or argument with a strong thesis statement.

2.    Analysis: present the evidence to support your thesis. You may compare your sources to one another and/or relate them to one another, always with your thesis statement in mind.

3.    Opinion: Your essay will include your evaluation of the chosen topic. Your personal evaluation should also be based on evidence and informed by events, people, and writings.

4.    Conclusion/closing argument: end your paper well. A good conclusion gives a brief review or summary of the evidence and support of the thesis. A good conclusion also provides the reader with one to two sentences that reinforce the validity of the thesis statement.

5.    Formatting: Your paper should include a work cited or bibliography as well as in text citation in MLA style.

6.    Other Formatting: Your paper should be double-spaced, typed, 12-point font, 1 inch margins, and include a title page.

A well-written essay has a clear outline with smooth transitions, a strong thesis statement and a strong closing argument or conclusion.